When working with EIP-2981, the Ethereum Improvement Proposal that defines a universal royalty payment standard for NFTs. Also known as NFT Royalty Standard, it lets creators receive a cut every time their token is resold. The EIP-2981 model solves the "no‑pay‑after‑sale" problem that has plagued artists since the first NFT boom.
The core idea is simple: a smart contract stores two pieces of data—recipient address and percentage. When a marketplace processes a secondary sale, it reads these fields and automatically routes the royalty. For example, a 5 % royalty on a 2 ETH sale sends 0.1 ETH straight to the artist’s wallet without any extra steps.
Because NFTs already rely on token standards, EIP-2981 slots neatly into existing protocols. Take ERC-721, the original non‑fungible token standard on Ethereum. Adding a few extra functions to an ERC‑721 contract enables royalty queries without breaking compatibility. This means collectors can still trade on any ERC‑721‑compatible platform while honoring the royalty.
Multi‑token projects often use ERC-1155, the flexible standard that supports both fungible and non‑fungible assets. EIP‑2981 extends to ERC‑1155 in the same way: each token ID can point to its own royalty settings, allowing game developers or art series to assign different percentages per item.
Marketplaces are the engine that pulls the royalty data into real‑world trades. Platforms like OpenSea, Rarible, and LooksRare have already integrated EIP‑2981, so when you click “Buy,” the contract’s royalty fields are read and the payment is split behind the scenes. This creates a feedback loop: more royalty‑friendly marketplaces attract creators, and creators bring more buyers to those marketplaces.
From a legal perspective, royalties give artists a clearer claim to ongoing revenue, aligning NFT sales with traditional copyright licensing. Regulators in several jurisdictions are watching how smart contracts enforce these payments, and a transparent standard like EIP‑2981 helps demonstrate compliance.
For developers, implementing the standard involves adding two view functions—royaltyInfo(uint256 tokenId, uint256 salePrice)—to the contract and storing the royalty data in a mapping. The functions must return the recipient address and the royalty amount. Testing on testnets ensures the logic works before a main‑net launch, and most Solidity libraries now include ready‑made snippets.
Looking ahead, the community is already discussing extensions that support dynamic royalties, split payments among multiple creators, and cross‑chain royalty enforcement. As more chains adopt the same pattern, creators could earn royalties regardless of where the secondary sale occurs, making the standard truly universal.
Below this overview you’ll discover a curated set of articles that dive deep into EIP‑2981’s technical details, real‑world case studies, and step‑by‑step guides for integrating royalties into your NFT projects. Whether you’re an artist, a developer, or a marketplace operator, the posts ahead will give you actionable insights to make the most of the NFT royalty standard.
Learn how to embed and enforce NFT royalties on-chain in 2025. Covers EIP-2981, blocklist vs allowlist, cross-chain challenges, marketplace tactics, and a creator checklist.